He will surely rank as one of the best fast bowlers Sachin Tendulkar has faced in his career. Currently bowling coach of the New Zealand team, Shane Bond was looking forward to seeing Tendulkar in action in New Zealand early next year. Saying that it will feel 'unreal' to see India play without the Little Master, Bond recollects what it was like bowling to the master and what Tendulkar's legacy will be like.

Excerpts from a conversation with Boria Majumdar

Boria: Shane, Sachin will not be in action in New Zealand when India tours early next year. Your thoughts?

Bond: It is a very strange thing to come to terms with. He has been around for so long it seemed he is and will be there permanently. To be able to play with distinction for a quarter century is incredible and each of us will miss him in New Zealand. Yes India will still be a very good team but there will be a degree of unease while seeing them in action.

Here is someone about who pages and pages have been written over the last 24 years, who has broken every major batting record that there is to break and scored runs in all conditions and countries in the world. He is unanimously accepted as the best batsman to have played cricket in the last two and a half decades. It will not be easy to come to terms with the fact that he isn't playing anymore.

Boria: You have bowled to Sachin with distinction. Tell me what made him the best batsman in the world?

Bond:- Sachin isn't the tallest man in the world. In fact, he is rather short and conventional wisdom says you can ruffle up a short person if you bowl short and real quick to him. And if you remember at my prime I could easily generate speeds of up to 150 kmph. Sachin, however, always had more time than others. He could rock back and hook and pull with equal panache and anything pitched up could disappear to the off side boundary. If the line was slightly awry, he could flick, glance or punch to the on side. He had and still has all the shots in the book making him the most complete player I have bowled to in my career.

It is this amazing ability of his that made bowling to him a real challenge. I was always excited at the prospect while knowing full well that the slightest mistake on my part could be dealt with severely. He had the ability to tear into a bowler and that's what made him the prized wicket of all. In fact, each time he walked out to bat you could sense something special was about to happen. This is because he always had the weight of achievement behind him and would walk out to a standing ovation no matter where he played.

Boria: What do you think will be his lasting legacy?

Bond: If I am to conjecture on his legacy I'd say the most important fact that he will leave behind is the amazing run he has had for such a long time. It is just staggering for someone to be able to do that and for this reason alone Sachin will go down in history as one of the game's all-time greats. When you add to this the way he played, the number of matches he has won for India and that he has played all the formats with distinction, you are left slack jawed in wonder!

Boria: Finally, will the NZ crowd miss him when India tours your country in 2014?

Bond: Of course they will. As I have already said at the start Sachin was almost a permanent fixture of an Indian touring team. We knew we'd see him in action. The crowds just loved him. Of course they'd miss him. Even 10-15 years down the line people will keep talking about him. And for myself I can say that while people will talk about him as one of the greatest batsman the world had ever seen I can say that I played with him and bowled to him. No one can take that away from me. Bowling to him is a story for my grandchildren if you know what I mean!